Are some martial arts better than each other?

Question

I was talking to a coworker a month ago about this. He was sitting down and I asked him if he watched MMA. He said no, then I asked if he had interest in martial arts, then he talked about Eskrima. He did not believe me when I said that Muay Thai and Brazilian Ju Jitsu were more efficient than Eskrima.

I think he was biased with Eskrima because he practiced it for two years. He kept saying that it wasnt the martial art, but the fighter. I don't see it that way. If the fighter was what mattered, then you would have street fighters and boxers beating professional MMA fighters - the best hand-to-hand fighters out there.

So I had a wager with him. He uses his Eskrima, he can use a foam stick or training knife if he wanted to and I Will employ what I know. I have friends who teach me what they know and I have been looking up how-to vids.

Honestly, the stance they use in his style of Eskrima looks so ridiculous. He kept his stick high, resting on his shoulder and he said it was to generate power when he swings the stick.

So we wore our padded gear, shook hands and then began going to town on each other. I will not lie, even if that was a foam stick, it hurt like hell and I had to stop. So the stick stuff works. I was wrong. I couldn't manage to close the distance, and even if I grabbed his hand or body, he still managed to land hits so painful that it hurt and I was done.

We went to just bare hands for both of us, and his stance still looked silly and was not that different from when he had the stick, but made a little more sense. I tried kicking him, but he blocked my kick so close that I couldnt generate enough power to hit him, so I tried elbowing, then he managed to stop them, then I was on the ground and he had my neck locked against his kneww so I tapped out.

I admit he won each time we fought, but I truly believe that if someone with formal training in what I knew went up against him, he would have lost. I mean eskrima does not look like an effective martial art. It looks silly and MMA fighters don't even use it. I don't even think the military uses it of any country other than the Philippines.

Answer 1

I used to think that some styles are better than others. Granted some styles are overpopulated by McDojo's and shouldn't really be done unless you know how a good school looks like. About a month ago I was in South Korea and I tried out Taekvando. Arguably the most bashed on style in the world. And it was good. They had intense workouts, real sparing, tough trainers and it was generally an overall good experience.



Most people say that mauy thai for instance is a good style. If you apply the same intensity, the same quality training of muay thai to another art doesn't that then make that art good as well? Given quality instruction, sparing, training in a good way any art should be able to be good. What you have to decide is what is quality training?



The same principle applies to escrima.

Answer 2

There is so much wrong with your logic that I could not possibly cover all the errors and assumptions. So I'll just say this... You judge something based on one instance of your experience sparring with someone. There is no evidence that either of you has any degree of skills in what you are doing, yet you judge things as if you are highly knowledgeable. You forget that in everything people do there are people that can do something well and others that can't. You also forget that people do martial arts. Martial arts do not operate, control, or limit people. Any martial art is only as good as the person using it. Bottom line is someone that is good and skilled in any style is likely to beat someone that is not as skilled in theirs. In all of history there is absolutely no proof that any style is measurably better than any other. why do you think people study different things? If one method or style of fighting was proven to be better don't you think that people in the know would all study that art? That would be especially true of people that have a long background in fighting arts in general. I know that if something was superior, I would be studying it now. All the most experienced people here would do the same I'll bet. Yet we all study different styles yet respect what the others study. The nay sayers here (and everywhere else) are not the guys with 20, 30, 40, or more years of fighting experience. They are the guys that have style hopped or trained in bad schools (most are, but it is the training, not the style, at fault.), OR they have studied in a good school but not long enough to fill in the gaps in their training. Don't believe me.... Take a long look at the people that answer here and their experience level. Make a chart with tow sides. On one side put the names of those that believe some styles are superior to others. On the other side put the names of those that believe it is the quality of the training, not the style that determines how effective they are. I'll bet next months mortgage payment that the chart will quickly show that the guys that say styles are superior or inferior will be younger and have much less training in traditional martial arts. The longer you add to the list the more evident it will be that the more experienced guys are not stuck on the style, but the training.





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Answer 3

He is 100% correct. It is not the martial art, but the fighter. Different martial arts put emphasis on different things such as Brazilian ju jitsu and ground-fighting or Karate and long-range kicks and medium range punches, but each has its disadvantages and advantages. You can't really fight off multiple attackers with BJJ, and when you are grabbed in Hapkido, you're in A LOT of trouble.



He whooped your *** because he was the better fighter. He probably had the better mind set too since you seem like a total braggart. You underestimated him.



MMA fighters are not the best hand-to-hand fighters out there. They are trained to fight in the ring and not in real life when knives, blunt weapons and strikes that would be considered illegal in the ring are used.



The martial arts you know are solid, (do you even know them though? Sounds to me like you had very mediocre training). Eskrima is a solid martial art, (which is used by some pretty famous and feared military groups out there like the US Navy SEALS).



In the real world, fights last SECONDS. Most of the time, an attacker is the only one with a weapon or able to draw their weapon fast enough, and the one being attacked has the odds stacked against them. Thats in the civilian world. In the battlefield, there are so many things that come into play and your MMA ring fighting skills are useless when you are fighting with a heavy vest, backpack and being shot at.



It is not the martial art, but the fighter. The person with the best mind-set, strategy and willingness to survive is the one who will be the winner most of the time. The martial art they know comes secondary.



And Eskrima is a very effective martial art. It was used against the Spanish invaders in the 15th and 16th century as well as the Japanese during the second world war. You don't know what you are talking about. Please, leave the pseudo-knowledge you find on the internet behind. If you got into a fight in the real-world, you would DIE. The fact that you thought you could easily overcome an ARMED opponent speaks about your lack of understanding of how fighting works.

Answer 4

No, one martial art is not "better" than another, it's largely a matter of what you feel comfortable with and what clicks with you. Karate and taekwondo focus more on kicking and striking, jujitsu works more with grappling and take-downs, judo is a bit like wrestling, and aikdio/hapkido focus on arm bars/wrist locks and take-downs. There will always be some variation in terminology, spelling and technique due to country of origin and modern adaptation. You should research all your options on the internet and in books to get a better idea of each, and you should also go to a couple of different martial arts studios to get a feel for the instruction and teachers, and ask questions. Have fun and good luck.

Answer 5

It has nothing to do with the style. It has to do with the skills that you learn, how you train and how effectively you use the skills.



I have seen guys from Eskrima kick a Muay Thai fighter's backside. My cousin is a blackbelt in modern Arnis and GJJ and he still uses a lot of skills from Modern Arnis.



MMA fighters dont use a lot of things because MMA is a sport, they only take what they need for in the cage to help them win a one on one fight with rules. MMA guys who train in BJJ dont even learn all of the BJJ applications because some of it is not required in the cage, the same for Muay Thai.



I am a blackbelt instructor in GJJ and a qualified instructor in Muay Thai with about 10 years experience and i am telling you now that i respect each and every person who has fight experience because any single one of them can beat you at any single moment.



No one style is better than another... Just some people are better than others

Answer 6

its the person not the style like every other person has said... I could say there are grandmasters in martial arts that could easily take out mma fighters.. keyboard warrior has no clue what he is talking about sambo or shanshou is part of kung fu most of its students start in basic kung fu.. the sambo middle weight champ is from the shaolin temple..cung li is a former sambo fighter.. their is no such style that is better then another only fighters can be better then another.. mma is just mixing martial arts..

Answer 7

Your entire logic is purely and solely dependent on assumption. You have no real training or experience in any of these things to be a judge of them.



It all exists in your head. Considering how you choose to represent yourself, your mind is completely baked to make heads or tails out of any real logic.

Answer 8

No, no such thing. Don't even listen to KeyboardWarrior. Half the time, he has no idea what he's talking about. Some of these older guys here said they used to think some styles sucked. Then they grew up and learned about it, or along those lines. Be aware that there ARE made-up styles and/or self promote like in a style of karate.

Answer 9

You don't seem to know sh it about martial arts. I hope you don't get hurt one day with your flawed logic and lack of proper training.

You even got taught a lesson and didn't take it. You think that guy or anyone trained in eskrima gives a stuff if you think a stance looks silly.

Your question portrays you as a think-I-know-but-don't-have-a-clue.

And it's hilarious that you bagged out a style in favour of styles that you've never properly trained (how-to vids lol).

True martial artists know that the style trained matters less than the student and instructor training.

Answer 10

Not really you practice any martial arts then practice things with your mind and only you mind cause if your all alone its you mind heart and spirit.

Answer 11

Really its depend on the person, they may be good at this style, may be better in other style..